No More Australians
by Shy-Shadow Reckless
Summary: Why the Doctor 10 can't face the idea of choosing another Australian, although he likes them. A bit Angsty if you squint. Mentions of Tegan and Rose.


I don't own The good Doctor, the BBC does.

Just so you know I am Australian so no offence intended to my fellow Aussies. This was inspired by the inevitable search for the last lemon cheesecake choccie in the box.

**No More Australians**

Australians could be charming, witty and just a little bit insane. The Doctor had known some lovely Australians in his time. Some were vocal and loud, like Tegan, demanding to be returned to their old life, and some were still a little loud but decidedly more impressed by the rest of the universe, like Laney.

They definitely fit his current criteria for companions. He asked all the same questions now before he let them come along. Laney had passed, staring at him like he was crazy, "Orchids." It was strange that she considered the question of what her favourite flower was more disturbing than the fact that he was an alien.

Laney was not like Tegan, her reactions tended to involve less yelling. Laney had a bad sense of direction, but was aware of it and tended to stay closer than most other companions ever had. He had asked her about this and she had shrugged and replied, "I learned my lesson after I got lost three blocks from my house."

She wasn't kidding. A kind hearted alien ambassador had given her the responsibility of navigating for his party. Laney had tried to refuse, accepting worriedly when he had told her to refuse was a very very bad plan. Almost war starting plan. "Uh, that way I think."

He had tuned out then, not that he had an idea where they were going anyway. He could have helped Laney with the directions, but the ambassador's scientist brother was just so fascinating to talk to. A war nearly started anyway after Laney directed them straight into a mined area that doubled as a weapons testing field. No one had blown up, but the map had very firmly been taken away from the human.

But a bad sense of direction wasn't a bad thing. If you went the opposite way she suggested things went swimmingly and when a loud alien voice was counting down from twenty to let you know something was going to be destroyed The Doctor found her reverse sense of direction very useful. Laney could always be counted on to pick the wrong way that lead straight back into the centre of the ship away from the safety of the Tardis. She was also very good at unerringly picking the wrong wire.

Wintery planets were a no-no with Laney on board. The poor thing couldn't adjust to snow as an alien environment quick enough with all the other crisises that were generally occurring. The Doctor would yell, "Look out for the black ice!" And a heartbeat later Laney would be on the ground in the middle of asking what black ice was. The Doctor would usually stumble then, dragged down since he was holding Laney's hand. Lesson learned, snowy planets were avoided.

But Laney could run. He had no idea if it was a talent all Australians possessed, but with Laney it was brilliant and welcome. The Doctor wondered if it was all the beaches they had to run along, all the fields they had animals in. He asked Laney about it. "I'm from the city." He had been disappointed she hadn't added a mate, or said something else Aussie sounding. There was no hanging about yelling for Laney to "Hurry up, they're right behind us!" She kept up.

The beaches were possibly the reason this Australian could run so well, but it also meant beaches had to be something really amazing to impress her. The small beaches of Stranden 16 didn't even deserve the title of beach apparently. "If I were on holiday with my friends," she'd said. "We wouldn't even bother pulling into the carpark, in fact in Australia it wouldn't even get a carpark. It's not a beach, the sand and sea just happen to be in the same place."

She'd been speechless at the sight of jewelled beaches, soft sand made of priceless stones. Impressing Laney with a beach had felt fantastic.

Laney was fun and a good friend. But not good enough for him to ignore her one true flaw. She had mentioned it by accident, after weeks of travelling. Asking for chocolate had seemed reasonable enough and he agreed to take somewhere she could get her favourite kind. He hadn't asked what they were.

He dropped her back home after he found the box. He'd almost cried and he couldn't tell her why.

The only problem with Australians was, their favourite flowers may be orchids, but their favourite chocolates were roses.

Finis


End file.
